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Pavel Kurfürst thought TrailO was very difficult to understand the first time he tried it. But he tried again and again, and now the Czech athlete is a European Champion.

The 41-year-old TrailO-athlete won the TempO with a margin of eight seconds, ahead of Norwegian Martin Jullum. They both had an incredible flow, but none of them felt it during the race. TempO is so fast and so much is happening all the time.

– During the race, everything feels a bit hectic, Pavel says.

During the race 28 decisions had to be taken. Pavel made two mistakes, which gave him 60 seconds in penalty. Despite this, his total time was only 258,5 seconds. It took him less than 200 seconds to take all the 28 decisions. That’s only seven seconds on each, which is incredibly fast.

Started in 2010

Pavel started with TrailO six years ago. Since 2013 he has gone in hard for the sport.

– The first time I took part I didn’t understand so much, but I continued with one more race and one more. I wanted to know what it is really about. After a while I got it, he smiles.

A result of hard work

Before the European Trail Orienteering Championships this week, 19 and 25 were his best results from the last two World Championships. This victory is a fantastic step forward, but he has really been working hard for this success on home ground.

– I took part in a lot of races the last year, about 20 in total. Earlier this year, I was the course setter at an event. That’s also very good learning.

Works with maps

Pavel lives in Prague, and maps are also a big part of work.

– I am a geographer and I work with GIS analysis, says the first medallist from the host nation at ETOC and EOC in Czech Republic.

– It is something extra to succeed on home ground with a lot of staff I know and friends present at the event, he says.

The youngest of all

Daniel Locker is the youngest athlete of all taking part in ETOC. The youth has already got an incredible knowledge. He was the second best from the host nation at TrailO. After a good qualification race, he started as the sixth last in the final.

– Nerves? Oh, yes I had a lot of that, he smiles.

Despite being so young, he did very well in the final, with a lot of spectators, and ended in the 12th spot. The reason for doing so well? He says it’s because he learns so much from his older brother and his father.

Winner Pavel Kurfürst and his young team mate Daniel Locker who also impressed a lot on the TrailO.